The second episodic sequel to Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2: Episode Two follows usual protagonists Gordon Freeman and Alyx Vance on their oft-interrupted journey to White Forest, a resistance base. Rockets and gnomes abound in Valve's latest addition to the series.

So this is five years old..............

It seems like only yesterday I played through this and experienced it's devastating ending. and while the only information that has come out on the next game in the series in five years has been a few pieces of concept art I have not given up hope that one day I may get to play it.

@GeoffPeterson1: At this point, wouldn't it make more sense to get a Half-Life 3 out of it? I mean, with a five year gap between games, you're doing a disservice to both old and new fans by just putting out another piece of episodic content. For old fans, one would hope they'd have moved on to another iteration of the Source engine at this point (either a total overhaul or a brand new one), and would have more to show for the half-decade absence then four or five hours of gameplay, and new fans would have no clue what was going on at all. Hell, at this point some of us old fans are getting pretty forgetful.

When Valve decides to continue the Half-Life series, I hope the blow it out completely with new tech and a full game behind it. Just like HL2 introduced a strong emphasis on physics based puzzle solving in a FPS vs the original.

I found the Half Life 2 and both Episodes pretty average, probably because I played them several years after they were released and the groundbreaking elements of the game no longer seemed particularly groundbreaking. Consequently I'm not too fussed about another Half Life game. Portal is considered it's spiritual successor anyway. That's good enough for me.

I found the Half Life 2 and both Episodes pretty average, probably because I played them several years after they were released and the groundbreaking elements of the game no longer seemed particularly groundbreaking.

I finished HL2 two days after its release and I found it pretty average. :-/

I should play this game at some point...but then I should play the first before I do that. It's a bit frustrating because I found Half-Life 2 CD's in a big box of old PC games (I think my dads friend gave them to him) but there's no CD key, it's probably not a huge deal since the game isn't that expensive to begin with.

I should play this game at some point...but then I should play the first before I do that. It's a bit frustrating because I found Half-Life 2 CD's in a big box of old PC games (I think my dads friend gave them to him) but there's no CD key, it's probably not a huge deal since the game isn't that expensive to begin with.

HL2 requires activation on Steam and each key can only be used once, so you're probably out of luck anyway if it's a second-hand game. You should be able to pick it up for pennies if you wait for it to go on sale again, though.

I should play this game at some point...but then I should play the first before I do that. It's a bit frustrating because I found Half-Life 2 CD's in a big box of old PC games (I think my dads friend gave them to him) but there's no CD key, it's probably not a huge deal since the game isn't that expensive to begin with.

The first Half-Life has actually aged extremely well, except for Xen, but I didn't find it as bad as everyone typically complains. So yeah, be sure to play that before you move on to Half-Life 2 and the Episodes.

who cares they are still making alot of money which takes away the pressure to release this game to make bank, this could be the most brilliantly crafted game in history or a Duke Nukem Forever which is very unlikely. Imagine if this game is 100 gigs and instead of coming on disks it comes on a SSD USB drive.

@Mirado: What makes you think it's gonna be "episodic"? They could make a 10+ hour FPS story and still call it "Episode Three."

Though, I wouldn't be surprised if it's called "Half-Life 2 Aftermath" or something, I think Valve would save "Half-Life 3" for a big, new entry in the franchise and not just a conclusion of the Half-Life 2 saga.

Gameplay average????? Why you blasphemous evil people ... it has THE BEST FPS gameplay ever period !!"!!!! >:(granted its my fav game so im very forgiving of it :P ; I dont care if they just deliver an episode lenght continuation I just want to know what happens next and to see if the new Advisor is DR. Breen.

@TonicBH: Well, even a 10+ hour FPS story still fits the definition of episodic, assuming the slap the Episode 3 title on it. My only inclination is whatever hints Valve has slowly...leaked, I guess.

I think my main point is I'd hope for some radical tech shift, keeping in mind the gap between episodes. Even a 10 hour game will feel like a bit of a cop out if it's still dragging the Source engine behind it. That thing really could use some updating.

The end of episode 2 has possibly the best example of voice acting of this generation. Listening to Merle Dandridge genuinely sobbing really took me by surprise. If you get the chance play the game with commentary on, she elaborates on it and her other roles in the game as well.